Going downhill fast!

[Tinsley11]

Hello! I have had this cactus since late 2014 and it is native of South Dakota. It started as two "segments" and grew well for a long time but starting this summer it started to not look healthy and very recently it has shriveled significantly. This summer I fertilized it a little with some compost tea from Earl May (4% nitrogen, 6% phosphate, 4% soluble potash, 4% calcium, 1% magnesium, 3% sulfur are listed as "guaranteed analysis" on the package) and am wondering if this is the reason it got sick. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I shouldn't have waited this long to ask for help and I really don't want to lose this cactus! Thanks in advance.

[StarDragon]

The withering could be a few things. How often do you water it? It could be underwatering or overwatering. Was there a dramatic increase in light?, That can cause wrinkling & yellowing, especially since it has etiolated growth. However, there is no withering or discoloration of the etiolated growth, so I'm not certain.Those spindly growths are etiolated, or abnormally growing stretched, pale, & weak spination from low light. Gradually introduce it into more efficient light. It must be gradual in order to prevent sunburn. The base appearing woody may simply be corking, which is normal. That dead spot may be the result of physical damage or disease & the cracking in the first photo, may be a sign of disease, but its toward the base of the plant, so it may have to do with corking, but I haven't ever seen anything quite like that, so the last part is purely a guess.

[greenknight]

I suspect the roots have rotted.

[Tinsley11]

The withering could be a few things. How often do you water it? It could be underwatering or overwatering. Was there a dramatic increase in light?, That can cause wrinkling & yellowing, especially since it has etiolated growth. However, there is no withering or discoloration of the etiolated growth, so I'm not certain.Those spindly growths are etiolated, or abnormally growing stretched, pale, & weak spination from low light. Gradually introduce it into more efficient light. It must be gradual in order to prevent sunburn. The base appearing woody may simply be corking, which is normal. That dead spot may be the result of physical damage or disease & the cracking in the first photo, may be a sign of disease, but its toward the base of the plant, so it may have to do with corking, but I haven't ever seen anything quite like that, so the last part is purely a guess.

Hey StarDragon, thanks for the response. Your suggestions got me thinking more. When the plant was healthier I think I was watering more often than I have been now. I just had some other plants overwatered so i cut back and would just give it a little water every few weeks or so. I am thinking now that I may have underwatered it. As for the light, I did move residences but it is hard to say if it is getting more or less sunlight so I am not sure which way to go there. If I had to guess, I would say it probably does not get enough. This summer I also added a little potting soil to provide nutrients but I suppose that could have potentially exposed it to some pest or disease. The cactus used to "stand up" and at first I didn't think much of it once it started "laying down" but looking back at the time-lapsed photos I should have seen it coming way sooner. Early on I used to put it outside during most days so maybe when the weather is nicer (I live in Iowa) I will start doing that again if it can live that long.

[Tinsley11]

I suspect the roots have rotted.

Hey greenknight, thanks for the response. I think I may have been underwatering the cactus but although the pot I have does drain some, the soil I have is not ideal for a cactus so it is definitely possible that despite infrequent waterings, I still could have rotted the roots. If I underwater AND rot the roots, I think it is fair to say that I suck at growing cacti!!! Thanks again for the suggestion.

[greenknight]

Underwatering can lead to root rot, especially if the soil contains too much peat. Dried-out peat resists soaking up water, if you get it really dried out and then water lightly part of the root ball can stay dried out, water can actually drain past without soaking in to it. After a while the roots that aren't getting water die. If you get it well-soaked after that, those dead roots rot, and it can spread to the live roots.

It's not that you suck at growing cacti, it's just very hard to keep them healthy in the wrong type of soil. You can do it if you get the watering just right, but it's tricky. You clearly did all right for a long time, it made some healthy growth. Lately, it hasn't had enough light, that's what causes those thin stretched-out shoots. With less light it used less water, you needed to adjust the watering, and apparently you didn't get it just right.

I think your best shot at salvaging this plant would be to take off the healthiest pads and grow them as cuttings. Opuntia pads root easily, very high chance of success. There is a slim chance you could save the main part - take it out of its pot, remove all the bad soil and any rotten roots. If there are any healthy roots left you can repot it in good cactus soil (see the Cultivation forum) and try to nurse it back to health. If there are no healthy roots, it's just cuttings.

You had the right idea putting it outside, these really do best in direct sun. Take heart - you don't really suck, and all is not lost.

[Tinsley11]

Underwatering can lead to root rot, especially if the soil contains too much peat. Dried-out peat resists soaking up water, if you get it really dried out and then water lightly part of the root ball can stay dried out, water can actually drain past without soaking in to it. After a while the roots that aren't getting water die. If you get it well-soaked after that, those dead roots rot, and it can spread to the live roots.

It's not that you suck at growing cacti, it's just very hard to keep them healthy in the wrong type of soil. You can do it if you get the watering just right, but it's tricky. You clearly did all right for a long time, it made some healthy growth. Lately, it hasn't had enough light, that's what causes those thin stretched-out shoots. With less light it used less water, you needed to adjust the watering, and apparently you didn't get it just right.

I think your best shot at salvaging this plant would be to take off the healthiest pads and grow them as cuttings. Opuntia pads root easily, very high chance of success. There is a slim chance you could save the main part - take it out of its pot, remove all the bad soil and any rotten roots. If there are any healthy roots left you can repot it in good cactus soil (see the Cultivation forum) and try to nurse it back to health. If there are no healthy roots, it's just cuttings.

You had the right idea putting it outside, these really do best in direct sun. Take heart - you don't really suck, and all is not lost.

Thank you!! That makes me feel a lot better. I will definitely check out the cultivation forum as you suggested and try my best to save it. Even if i can just end up saving a little bit of it I would consider that a success. Thanks again for your time and help!